Income Tax Return (ITR) Forms for FY 2016-17 & AY 2017-18: Which one should you file?

Income Tax Department has notified some changes in the ITR (Income Tax Return) Forms to be filled up by the Assesses for income earned in the year 2016-17 i.e. Financial Year 2016-17 and Assessment Year 2017-18. In plain terms, these ITR Forms are applicable for Income Tax Return filing for the income earned from 1st April, 2016 to 31st March, 2017. So since there are many confusions as to which ITR Form is applicable for you, let us have a look at the different ITR Forms and their applicability.

ITR 1 (Sahaj)

The ITR Form 1 (Sahaj) is applicable for the Individuals & Hindu Undivided Families (HUF) having income upto Rs. 50 lakhs and dividend income upto Rs. 10 lakhs. This ITR Form can be used by persons who have income from Salary or Pension, income in the form of Interest and income from upto one House Property.

ITR 2

The ITR 2 is also for Individuals and HUF but the scope is wider than that of ITR 1. This new ITR 2 Form (AY 2017-18) has been created by merging the earlier ITR 2, ITR 2A and ITR 3. ITR 2 can be filed by an assessee who has income from the following sources:

Income from Salary or Pension

Income from one or more than one House Property

Income from long term and short term Capital Gains (or losses)

Income from Other Sources including all types of legal gambling like lotteries, race horses etc.

Income from a Partnership firm as a partner. Please note that any person having income under the head Business or Profession under proprietorship cannot file its Income Tax Return using ITR 2.

Agricultural Income more than Rs. 5000.

ITR 3

The ITR 3 is applicable for Individuals and HUFs who have income under the head Business or Profession under Proprietorship. However the return may include income from Salary or Pension, House Property and Other Sources, if any. The new ITR 3 (AY 2017-18) is a replacement of the earlier ITR 4.

ITR 4 (Sugam)

The ITR 4 is the replacement of the old ITR 4S and is applicable for Individuals and HUFs who are paying taxes under the presumptive income scheme as per Section 44AD, 44ADA and Section 44AE of the Income Tax Act. The turnover of the business must not exceed Rs. 2 crores otherwise this ITR 4 will not be applicable anymore. Thus this ITR Form is applicable for generally the small business having turnover up to Rs 2 crore and other professionals who have gross receipts upto Rs 50 lakhs. For persons involved in the business of plying, leasing and hiring of trucks(under Section 44AE), they should not own more than 10 trucks.

ITR 6

The ITR 6 Form is applicable for filing the income tax return of Companies, excluding the companies which have held properties for charitable and religious purposes. This return form has to be furnished electronically under digital signature. No offline mode is available for filing ITR 6.

Due dates to file the Income Tax returns for FY 2016-17 and AY 2017-18

The due date to file the income tax return for the individuals is 31st July, 2017 and 30thSeptember, 2017 for Businesses.

Hope this article has helped you in selecting the correct Income Tax Return Form for you for the Financial Year 2016-17 and Assessment Year 2017-18.